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 have now taken to new paths, forgetting what Iswar Gupta taught them.

Finishing school, Dinabandhu joined the Hindu College where he studied for a few years, securing a scholarship. He enjoyed the reputation of being one of the best students of his college.

I do not know much about Dinabandhu's student life, for I was not known to him then.

Probably in the year 1855 Dinabandhu left college, and accepted the post of Postmaster, Patna Post Office, on a monthly salary of Rs 150/. During his tenure of office there for a period of six months Dinabandhu worked with reputation. A year and a half after, he was given a lift. He was made the Inspecting Postmaster of the division of Orissa, but though there was a rise in his position there was no rise in his salary. It came later.

Today it seems how better it would have been, had Dinabandhu stayed on as a lifelong Postmaster on a salary of Rs 150/- a month. His promotion to the post of Inspecting Postmaster had not been surely a blessing. Formerly the rules of service required Inspecting Postmasters to tour about ceaselessly in different areas and supervise the work of different Post Offices. Nowadays they may, if they should so desire, stay at the Headquarters for a period of six months. Formerly, however, rules were different, and they had to be on the move all the twelve months of the year, halting at some place for a day, at another for two days, and still another for three days at the most. Years of ceaseless labour break down even an iron physique much as constant running wears out an iron wheel. Dinabandhu failed to bear the strain of his work. His appointment to the post of Inspecting Postmaster had been a great misfortune to Bengal!

This however was not an unmitigated evil. A writer of satirical literature needs a special type of training, which training is provided only by a study of different types of human character. During his tours in many places Dinabandhu came in touch with such varied types of human character! It was by virtue of this training he thus received that he was able to create a variety of humorous characters—a variety rarely to be met with in Bengali literature.

From Orissa division Dinabandhu was first sent out to Nadia division, and thence to Dacca division. Troubles centring round Indigo had already started at that time.